Cyclone Gate
by Krythan Warrior
Summary: The kaleidoscope of the world is viewed by those who wish to save it as the potential for unity. For those who desire destruction, the pieces are but pawns in a game which spans a history in flux with the secrets that fools will never be made aware of.
1. Chapter 1 For Want of a Claw

_Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto, but I did enjoy writing this._

Cyclone Gate

**Chapter 1**

_For Want of a Claw_

X00 Years Ago…

'I'm back…!'

A cloaked figure lurched up in surprise as the light streaming in from a nearby window echoed the spring morning to the world. Wind whistled in through the cracks in the plaster walls wracked shoddy by impact fissures in the floor of the house. The figure's pale hands rubbed each other to regain some semblance of warmth and familiarity. The cloak, spread wide, covering both flesh and rock, bent to form around the figure's lithe body as it stood up to stretch its worn muscles.

'I never expected it to actually work. I'm in one piece and feeling better than I ever had when I was still young. That... thing… sent me back here. I only hope the damn thing kept its word. After all, never trust a snake you didn't raise yourself… What?'

The figure muttered at the flash it assumed was the sun and decided to venture outside. The thing would never let him live it down if the trip was rendered pointless by his sloth-like overconfidence. In the morning light, finding the door outside wasn't a problem, though getting out the blocked door was another issue entirely. Reluctant to use any jutsu for fear of attracting unwanted attention, especially at such a crucial juncture in the plan, the figure braced itself against the door and with a heave and rush of chakra, the entrance gave way in the most spectacular example of ridiculously excessive strength since Tsunade's legendary post-peeping beatdown of Jiraiya all those years ago. Having not expected to awaken with such poor control and even more so to have knocked the entire wall down, the figure could be forgiven for his lapse in judgement and instinctual shinobi speed whisking him away to the direction where the lights were flashing boldly even among the morning sunbeams. There the figure saw both what he'd never expected to find and what just made his little chess game all the more fun.

'The Sage is… real…? He's actually real and out teaching jutsu to village children? Oh, this is precious…Kukukuku…' the figure ruminated quietly near the edge of the distant forest across from the tiny village. The chuckling only grew louder as he meandered on through the forest, whipping his head back and revealing long black hair under the hood. With his pale hand, he pushed his hair away from his face, further exposing his pale skin to the environment. Amid the narrow features were purple and black markings arcing around his narrow eyes, eyes of gold that glistened in undiluted joy at his fascinating discovery…

_*_*_*_*_*_

"Mr. Sage! Mr. Sage! …why can't you stay? Why can't you?" The children the Sage taught basic elemental jutsu to ran after him to plead for him to stay, becoming more desperate with each couple of feet he walks closer to the edge of the town.

"I'm sorry kids, but I have an important meeting that I have to go to and I don't want to be late!" the Sage intoned, his kind and authoritative voice lending itself to the reluctant goodbyes from the young men and women he spent the morning with. Humming to himself, he picked up speed until he was but a mere blur across the plains. Concentric-ringed eyes narrowed in concentration as thoughts of the task ahead bounced around in his genius mind.

'Ever since I started my journey to teach the world about chakra, never in my wildest dreams did I expect to be summoned by the Four Guardians. I may be the possessor of the Rin'negan, but even I don't know exactly why living beings contain chakra! Heh! Seeing one of the Gates to the Mirror World will be quite a treat!'

The Sage came upon a large jungle in the distance, his eyes detecting large masses of spirit chakra amid the trees. Accelerating even further, he leapt into the underbrush, concentrating all his reflexes to be able to weave under, over and around the roots, branches and trunks of the mossy vegetation. The trees themselves were very large, about ten men in width and also the home to many species the Sage planned to meet later to talk about contracts with. Finding himself with meetings upon meetings that were only brought on by himself hadn't quite swamped him over, considering his great speed, but he wondered if he shouldn't hire an assistant before it got any worse. The Six Paths' Sage slowly decelerated from sprinting to slide just in front of a frog the size of the kids he played with earlier. Man waved to frog. Frog waved back.

"Hey there, Sagey! I've bin giv'n the job o' escortin' you to them higher-ups! My name's Gamasen. How d'you do, boyo? Follow me! Walk'n talk! Walk an' talk!" The frog bounded up and down as the Sage strolled at relatively the same pace, careful to avoid bumping into his guide. The man smirked at the harrowing tales of the Lily Pad Wars and chuckled to the sound of the recitation of the Oath of Flystew. Gamasen and the Sage shuffled up to an immense cave hidden in the shady depths of the forest, mindful of the great chakras within. A male's voice bellowed from beyond the glows of the cave interior.

"Akira, Sage of the Six Paths, come forward! We have much to discuss and only a short time in which to do so…"

_*_*_*_*_*_

The rain pelted the mountain mercilessly as lightning struck overhead from the view of the castle's balcony. A man in black armour studied the valley below him. As surveyor of his elderly father's territory, it was his responsibility to make sure his word was carried out to the letter. Carrying out the shogun's will was all the son had done for the past 35 years and for his daughter, he would endure 35 more exhausting years as the de facto leader of the shogunate before he let the bastard army of drugged up ingrates and their infectious delirium get even a foot into his homeland; what's more, if they managed to even slow down expansion, they would incur his wrath. The shogun's granddaughter would never have to share the same air with them within a hundred miles if he had anything to say about it, which he most certainly did.

Gently extracting a tattered scroll from a pouch on his belt, the shogun's son slowly unravelled the thin parchment, careful to leave the text as intact as possible from the seeping rain showers. Battered red ink sprawled across the page began to glow as swirls of crimson refracted off the man's eyes.

"So it's come to this…"

_*_*_*_*_*_

Hammering metal to forge a weapon takes more skill than most people realize. Crafting a new source of power is much the same in reputation. Doing both simultaneously and as the same entity, well, that was just implied overkill! Dunking the smouldering blade into the glowing water from the basin next to the forge, a shadowy figure grinned at its handy work and wiped sweat from its brow.

'Soon…very soon…I… I… will gain all that I deserve and the world will receive me! In all my glory...! _Hurk! Hhcck! _Ahh! _Ptooie!_ My might will not fade into the forgotten past... The Flames of Oblivion will never stop burning... _hack_..."

_*_*_*_*_*_

12 Years Ago...

Foul breath and the chill of destruction were pretty much the nicest things one could say about the Kyuubi no Yoko, especially considering the overbearing heat its very presence brought to the lands of the Fire country. Ninja were just about everywhere you would think them to be when defending the hidden village they call home. Medic-nin tended to the wounded shinobi and kunoichi that were felled in combat, ninjutsu masters pelted the beastly fox with the elements themselves, and sealing specialists, well, they may have had the most difficult job of all. Considering the intricacies that go into making seals, being in such a stressful environment with your nakama being slaughtered was likely not a good idea, especially for the commander, the Hokage. "The Professor" Hiruzen Sarutobi stood atop the great chief toad Gamabunta with his former pupil Jiraiya and his own familiar, the monkey king Enma. Troubling indeed was this random attack which no one could have seen coming, but that which they must deal with anyway with the strength of the Will of Fire.

"Old man," Jiraiya intoned, "we don't have very many options without Minato. What could be keeping him from reporting back to you?"

The elder shinobi stroked his beard in thought. "Hmm, you're right. I haven't heard from him in an hour or so. He must be caught up with something, but we don't have time to ponder it now, especially with our forces dwindling. We have to act now. We'll go ahead with the Jinchuuriki plan-"

"That plan is pointless without Minato to occupy the fox while you summon the Reaper! Just because you have that turtle inside you doesn't mean you're invincible! This is a suicide jutsu we're talking about! We only get one try!"

"I appreciate your concern Jiraiya, but Lord Genbu has seniority over the Reaper in cases of sacrificial death for the cause of others."

"Oh? And who pray tell told you that?"

"**I did**," boomed a voice so authoritative that the toad sage couldn't help but stand to attention in front of the golden pillar of light emanating from the very ground itself, while the old Turtle Ninja simply smiled like a day free of paperwork was just around the corner.

**"To hurry things along, I'll speak to the Reaper myself. Meanwhile, Jiraiya, you go fetch Kushina and her child, while I summon help for Minato. Hiruzen, be ready to execute the jutsu after you command the retreat on my signal."**

Two Hours Before...

Speed is essential to being a ninja. That's a fact. As a shinobi grows in experience and might, speed becomes all the more important for warriors of the shadows. Minato Namikaze knew all that better than anyone his age. A prodigy among prodigies, with a growth rate exceeding the Legendary Sannin (his own pervy sensei included), becoming a shinobi feared by Iwa nicknamed the Yellow Flash of Konoha did nothing to hurt his reputation as a hero of the Land of Fire. That's not to say that the bright blonde jounin dwelled on such things, but when in a situation like the one he was in now, wondering if you can live up to your own hype is bound to happen, if only for a second amidst fighting for your life.

A zombie, that's what this guy had to be. It was the only logical explanation that came to mind. Whether resurrected by himself or by someone else, there was no other explanation that Minato could conjure up. Spooky stories from Jiraiya-sensei during far off missions in more obscure lands detailed myths of creatures that were far beyond normality, even for ninja. Zombies had instigated a bit of a sick fascination with the nature of death but for his spirit letting him know that part of heroism is sacrifice. His disturbing chains of thought subsided, only years later for that damn fox to show up, and sacrificial sealing jutsu to increasingly become the only effective option. Facing an ancient terror only made the apprehensions worse.

Minato tried desperately to activate Hiraishin, but to no avail. _He can't be as powerful as he says he is to have been able to destroy all my seals and I feel like I'm running in circles in water in a dreamworld. I must be trapped in a genjutsu. Kai!_ Minato's eyes snapped open to see the dark, night field he'd been standing in and began to scan the area around him. _...wait, didn't I stub my toe on that rock? Huh?!_

The swiftness of movement rivalled his own as their kunai clashed and Minato finally came face-to-face with the unseen factor of the night's events: a tall man in a tattered black cloak with long, spiky ebon hair and a coal mask with stylized red spikes painted over the eye holes. Both men grunted with effort as their grapple tested each other's prowess in battle while their eyes sought the other's intent of the soul.

The cloaked man backed off suddenly and grasped his mask with his left hand while his right tossed his kunai to the side. He then began muttering to Yellow Flash about random past events, seemingly innocuous things about legends that Minato thought if they were believed without skepticism the person in question would most certainly be loony.

"Do you know what this day has in common with the founding of the five village system and before that the very concept of the modern mercenary ninja? Do you? Or do you simply follow whatever paltry words your mentors spout?" The man at this point pulled his mask and cloak off, but kept his head down in a slouch. "What these three points in history have in common, my friend, is that the truth of the events is not the truth that the world 'knows' to be such a truth. Things that _should_ be impossible to the world often _are_ possible, because even though ninjas live in the shadows, there are always shadows under those shadows. No matter what secrets you know, there are still things beyond your reach that you will never know, simply because you are mortal. The past is lost to you and the future is forever out of your grasp. The only absolute truth of everything which the world can never refute is that to rule is to have power, to have power is to have knowledge and to make these everlasting you need the truth. Underlying that, to gain the real truth, you must have all of it and finally, to be all, you must be eternally immortal!"

"Just where are you going with this? And why are you targeting me? What do your crackpot theories have to do with anything? If you're what's drawing the Kyuubi here then I'll just have to end this and save my village!"

"Always the hero... Here's the deal. You're going to be the Fourth Hokage when little Hiruzen decides to retire. That should be pretty soon. As Hokage, in the place of an Ouryuu Guardian, you'll be charged with guarding the Central Gate. Sounds simple enough. You'll be exposed to all sorts of secrets that will change everything you know about being a ninja. I'm only giving you fair warning about the nature of the truth you know." The man then took his time to raise his head, crimson eyes glistening in the moonlight and the ecstasy of the gears of his plot turning. Three tomoe danced around the pupil in the iris, ever so slightly appearing as if to merge. "Here is an example..." The man took a few steps towards his young foe, feigning slight caution.

"You're an Uchiha? I don't recognize you!"

"How perceptive. But are you sure you don't know who I am? I said this was an example after all, so I guess I do have to explain. The truth you know is that there isn't a truth the world's history cares to know. Having lived as long as I have, I know well the ignorance of the wretched young who waste their time floundering about and not seizing what they want. You are almost an exception. You have a gift and you use it to gain the power you need in a world that believes in apathy and coddling. However, you also subscribe to those notions despite your drive for strength. That is the nature of the Will of Fire. That is the nature of your truth. The line of mastery that you perpetuate will be something I look forward to in the future."

The Uchiha's eyes then surged with chakra and the tomoe merged to form a barred constuct, with three inner bars looking like hollowed tomoe link together end to end and three more bars connecting the 'edges' to the boundary of the irises. The malevolent Uchiha stared viciously in Minato's direction, with Minato prudently avoiding eye contact in the face of the unforeseen ability now being witnessed.

"_This_ is my truth, Namikaze. This is the culmination of a man's wish for everything after he was given nothing and what he did have was taken away. This is the type of truth that you will face. I was supposed to have died in battle with Hashirama Senju, but death could not claim me. My legend still persisted, despite my shamed defeat. The legends before me now cry out, 'Madara Uchiha is among the shadows of the shadows', and I wouldn't have it any other way. Because you see, immortality has granted me the foresight to see that the world can be blinded by anything. What we call truth and lie have no meaning to the short-sightedness of humanity and it is for that reason that the attack of the fox, even though it will be stopped, and even though the jinchuuriki will gain the great power to one day fight the snake and other beasts, this attack and its link to the Uchiha that has been in place for centuries will leave a scar on the world that will ignite the flames of war and the ceaseless pettiness that crawls beneath me."

"For that simple fact, I, Madara Uchiha, Immortal Descendant of the True Path of Dawn and Eternal Incumbent Master of the Red Moon Organization, challenge you, Minato Namikaze, future Fourth Hokage, Inheritor of the Will of Fire and Constant of the Continuum, and your heirs to the greatest war that could ever be fought for the sake of existence and what you believe to **be**!"

"You're not going to get anywhere with your schemes. You don't have the power to back up your bluster. I don't care what you think. All I know is, you're threatening my home and I won't stand for it-"

Minato wished to continue, but Madara was swamped in flames before he could take another breath. Approaching at top speed was a blazing avian figure, with vermillion feathers, which faded to reveal a man beneath the fiery visage.

"Mr. Teuchi, you're the Suzaku Guardian? You just moved here with your ramen stand!"

Teuchi dusted himself off while Madara pulled himself back up, taking his cloak and mask and covering his black armour in even more obsidian darkness.

"I was called for an emergency. They said it wasn't a catering disaster so I didn't need my ladle." The ramen chef was decked out in armour resembling that of a general, but red, orange and yellow, with the Phonix Crest of the South Gate emblazoned on the chestplate.

"Suzaku..." Madara growled. "The beast has no business interfering in the choices of the living who were granted power by the Guardians themselves.

"Jealous, are we? I'm sorry the greatest sharingan user of all time turned out to be such a prick, but hey, what can you do?

"I'll be taking my leave now, " Madara's voice faded as his body did the same. "Remember my words, boy. Plan as best you can, because you'll need everything you have to fight someone who was _supposed_ to be dead..."

"Let's go report this, " Minato sighed_. After all this, after Naruto was supposed to be born, and he was volunteered to be the hero who caged the fox and my own part to play in the defeat of the Bijuu which threatened our village, after all of that, Kushina's and my hopes for our child are threatened even further by a zombie man who wants to play a sick and twisted game with existence itself. Impossibility is but a perception, he was right about that, but what made him so sure of himself. Heh, I can just imagine Kushina getting riled up already, promising to make him eat those words of his... _

**A/N:** I hope you enjoyed reading this and I appreciate any feedback or constructive criticism.

A major addition that this story adds is that of the Gate Guardians. They are based on the four gods of Chinese, Japanese and other Asian mythologies. For the purposes of this story I will be using the Japanese names, both due to Naruto's Japanese origin and the ease of spelling.

There will be other additions to the story, such as some new situations due to the altered course of events, new creatures and concepts, and a few 'original' characters, a few of which you've met in the original and a few I've made myself.

I hope you join me on my journey to explore the world of Naruto through a different lens, because playing with tropes is fun and this could be a bumpy ride!


	2. Chapter 2 The Way Things Are

_Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto, but I did enjoy writing this._

Cyclone Gate

**Chapter 2**

_The Way Things Are_

_Today's the day...!_

Leaping out of bed, the stampeding rhino known as Naruto rushed downstairs to the kitchen for breakfast, sadly leaving his walrus nightcap to flutter to the ground. Vaulting himself over the steps and stubbing his toes (a lot, ouch!) , the young boy saw fit to _walk_ the rest of the way.

"You're up early, my little fish-cake!"

"Mom! Today's the final test! How am I supposed to feel like I'm ready to graduate and become a ninja if you keep calling me all these cutesy-poo names?!"

"Just because a ninja is an independent member of society does not in any way relinquish my role as your mother, so I still reserve the right to call you by embarrassing nicknames until you can get another, not-so-embarrassing one!"

"Gee mom, I can feel the love... um, what's for breakfast, before you embarrass me any further in my own home...?"

"Whatever you can get yourself is yours. You're a big boy now!" The woman ruffled her boy's hair with one hand and tucked a long lock of red hair behind her ear with the other while getting her paperwork together for her leave application. "Besides, I have to leave very soon to take these forms to the Hokage Tower. It's time to add some more to your father's pile! Hehehe..."

"That's cruel and unusual punishment mom... He's gonna start wondering if he's a masochist what with you and the picking on him..." Naruto muttered as he watched his mother head towards the door, mumbling her byes and chuckling her way to work.

"Ok, worrying about my parents' funky relationship isn't gonna get me anywhere! Besides, they're pretty happy together.. AND WHY AM I WASTING MY TIME RAMBLIING?!? YEESH!" _Grumble-grrmbllee..._" Off to Ichiraku's for some beef ramen and then straight to the academy! All I have to do is put on my orange and grab Froggy and I'll be one step closer to being Hokage! Believe it!"

Kakashi Hatake was a man of many talents. He had many hobbies, the most well known of which was his frequent perusal of a peculiar orange book. Some identified it for what it was: adult literature penned by one of the Sannin, Jiraiya, the man who taught the man who taught Kakashi. Those of the younger generations, liable to stir up wanton rumours, like the precedent dictates, came up with some rather odd suggestions for the use of the book the famous Copy Ninja was almost never without. Green chuunin and barely-genin-at-all genin had jibed that reading the book he could read people's minds, and that's how he was so skilled. More easily rattled and paranoid villagers thought he actually wrote a person's name in the book and they magically died as a way to explain his kill count and mission success.

Those who truly knew the masked jounin, knew exactly how the core of who he was originated and the influences of his past. Although he was friendly with both the teacher of his teacher, and HIS teacher, the one who knew him best was obviously his own teacher: Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage. Speaking of the Hokage, Kakashi was currently walking up the stairs of the Hokage Tower to visit the man he once called sensei. And any good student cares when their teacher is suffering, so it was up to Kakashi to comfort Minato-sensei in his time of need, which is exactly what the former ANBU observed as he entered the Hokage's office...

Peering over messy mounds of paper at the creak of his door, the Yellow Flash blinked at his visitor with a droopy expression to his face, blearily mumbling his hellos and g'mornings to his masked alumnus. Pillowy chair pushed backwards, Minato stretched and stood up so he could speak with Kakashi in a less paperwork-oriented area.

"So, sensei, to change the subject to something more positive, relatively speaking, I think this will be the last year I test for a genin squad. Obito's already been through two, but he also has different standards than I do," Kakashi gestured as they strolled down to an empty board room. "And I'm not going to use the bell test this time since none of the teams I've tested so far were anywhere near close to the spirit of teamwork needed to pass it. So I've decided to try something different and... Are you alright, Minato-sensei...?"

"Oh don't mind me Kakashi... I'm just exasperated by, well, pretty much everything nowadays..." the Hokage moaned miserably. "I know it isn't like me but... Ugh, I just don't how to put this! I can blow up an entire mountain easier than I can articulate this! Being a field commander is cake compared to... Huh, Kushina?!"

"Hey boys!" Kushina panted as she jogged over to her husband and his student. "I've got more paperwork for you dar...ling..." The redhead trailed off as she recognized the dreary look in her husband's eyes and stared at him in concern.

"Hi Kushi. How was your morning? Heh..." Minato smiled lightly, though his clouded eyes betrayed exactly how broken up inside he was and the density of what he must have been bottling up. "Um, Kakashi, I know we were going to talk, but..."

"No need to ask sensei..." Kakashi responded smoothly. "I'll just swing by the academy to observe the exams... It's part of my job as a molder of young minds anyways..." The masked jounin trailed off as he did indeed blaze his own trail away from the conversation and pulled out a conspicuous orange book...

"Hey, hey, hey! Iruka-sensei! What's up?" A blond and orange blur skidded into the classroom and saluted to his chuunin sensei, nearly bowling over a few classmates in the process.

"Naruto! Don't crash into people, even if it allows you to arrive on time! This isn't a combat situation! We're only getting ready for a test... And all the rest of you, pipe down! We're going to have a pop quiz on the Transformation Jutsu before the exam due to your excessively rude behaviour and volume!" Iruka lectured sternly. "Just because you're waiting does not mean you can just cause a ruckus, right Sakura and Ino?"

"Ummm..." the two girls chimed, then pointed at each other and shouted, "but she tried to steal the seat next to Sasuke and-". However, amidst the chaos a dark haired boy that looked much like Sasuke stole the seat next to the aforementioned Sasuke and leaned back to put his feet up while the yelling and screaming continued unabated. Unbeknownst to any of them, a lens-wearing redhead observed the scene with a glint in her eyes and a notepad in hand scribbling furiously...

"OKAY!!!! Sheesh! Screw the review! Kenta, can you please just go back to your regular seat in front of your brother!"

"Okay, okay. Just tryin' to stoke the fires a bit..."

"Sasuke, please go tell Mizuki-sensei that we're ready to start now."

"Right."

"Sakura and Ino, SIT DOWN!"

"Yes, sensei! Sorry, sensei!"

"Suigetsu, stop dripping on the floor!"

"Mmn, sorry..."

"...and Shikamaru, wake up!"

"Huh, wha...?"

Naruto then chose that moment to pipe up with a squinty-eyed laugh and cried, "Hahahaha! This is why I love being in this class! It's never dull!" Naruto was practically flapping his arms at this point. "I mean we've got the best of every clan in this class! An Inuzuka, an Aburame, a Hyuuga, a Nara, an Akimichi, a Yamanaka, a couple Uchiha bros, and even a Namikaze, me, the son of the Hokage!" The bombastic boy was now bouncing bubbly around the room. "Doesn't that make you want to just slug your fist into the air?! Bring on the exam! We'll blow it out of the water! Believe it! Yeah-"

"Aren't we excited, eh?"

"Aaaah!?!" Naruto screamed in surprise. "Mizuki-sensei! If I didn't already know you were a ninja, I'd think you were a total freak!"

"Hn. The only freak here is you, loser." Sasuke grumbled as he strutted into the room after the blue haired chuunin he was sent to retrieve.

"Who're you calling a loser, prissy-boy?!"

"Naruto..." Mizuki growled in annoyance at the fox-boy's grating behaviour. _You're not going to get a passing grade. I'll make sure of that, demon-Hokage-brat! _"Test time, everyone!", the bigot continued in the louder, saccharine tone he used for everyday teaching, inwardly grinning in anticipation of carrying out his secretive plot later that afternoon...

Criminal elements in society, especially when ninja are involved, have to operate on many different levels, more so in the area of secrecy and the infrastructures involved. Whereas normal outfits and organizations have the standard set of problems, such as, quite obviously, staying under the radar, maintaining finances and/or territory, settling inborn disputes and very much cutthroat competition, missing-nin create a whole new set of rules to live (or die) by.

Several syndicates have saw fit to hire missing-nin for particular services, some alliances short-term or long-term, but the fact doesn't change that every shinobi has a price. The most elusive (both financially and literally) missing-nin on the market were the most powerful and the most secretive, and none were more secretive than the group known as Akatsuki. Their members with the black cloaks with crimson clouds decorating the fabric were well known as the most expensive, and yet most worthwhile ninja expenditures one could acquire. You got bang for your buck, as some clients would say. One such client intended to squeeze every last drop of service she could buy to accomplish her one goal, a goal she had set aside every other goal for. If she could hire Akatsuki, she could have all the steps of her plans accomplished in good order. Her vendetta would not be denied her, not when she was so close to achieving the necessary amount of money to more than cover the costs, but still have enough to give for any extra contingencies not in the original contract.

Sauntering along the streets of Iwa in her fine robes, the young woman took a shortcut through an alley way and right into the neighbourhood where she worked her affluent position for all it was worth. The vixen would not allow the heroes of her country to have died in vain. Even more so, she would pay them back the glory they deserved and more.

"Lady Ryoko! There you are!" a servant exclaimed. "Everyone in the class has been awaiting your arrival. Please do come in." The young maid quickly ushered her mistress into her estate, checked for sign of any snoops, then locked the door to continue her normal duties, unaware of the intention beneath the surface of her mistress' whim and the targets of her silent wrath...

"Hey, old man...um..."

"Yes, Naruto, my boy?" the old man enquired as he puffed on his pipe near the summit of the Hokage Monument.

"Do you think I'm a worthwhile person?" the blonde boy fidgeted as he posed a question that, in his mind, needed to be answered by someone who was wise, experienced and knew what being a ninja was about. There was no one else who Naruto could think of who hit those three categories as well as old man Hokage did. For this, and many other reasons, the young man trusted Hiruzen with many of his thoughts that he believed would be too awkward to tell his parents and the elderly shinobi was more than glad to bend his ear to the son of his successor. However, in this situation, old Hiruzen was thrown for a loop.

"...what, Naruto...?" the retiree sputtered, almost dropping his pipe on the ground in his surprise. "Why would you... I mean, of course I think you're a worthwhile person. You have a noble goal and the heart to achieve it. What made you think otherwise? Teasing? Bullying? What happened?" Hiruzen looked thoughtfully at the boy as he shuffled over to give Naruto an encouraging pat on the back.

"Old man...." Naruto cried in his agony. "I failed the exam. Horribly. I was so close, but I just... I just..."

"It's alright, Naruto. Take it slowly. There's no rush. Breath. Okay. Now..."

"I aced the Transformation Jutsu part! I've always been good at that. Where would my jokes be without that move? It's the whole reason I'm the funniest guy in my class! ...anyways, the next few jutsu weren't too hard to figure out, only a bit challenging, but then I had to deal with that stupid Clone Jutsu and...that's how I failed! The Clone Jutsu tipped my mark so low I'll be retaking classes for years. Ugh! I don't know what's so hard about it!" Naruto began smacking himself the head with his palms when the old Hokage grasped Naruto's wrists and pulled him in for a grandfatherly hug.

"Naruto, you shouldn't be so hard on your self. Besides, something is suspicious about your mark being changed so drastically simply because of the clone jutsu. Who administered the test to you?" The hug ended and Naruto seemed relatively more calm.

"It was Iruka-sensei an-and Mi-Mizuki-sensei...! That blue-haired freak told me a lie, said I'm a demon, that the village only pretends to like me because I'm the Hokage's son, but really they hate me and that my failure was what I deserved for being a killer!

"Come on, Naruto. None of that is true at all and-"

"The Hokage shouldn't lie to a villager, even if that villager is a fox in human form...!"

"Mizuki, you...!" the old man growled at the sight of the chuunin, but even more so at the sight of what he was holding.

"Hey! What did you do to Iruka-sensei, you sleazeball?!" Naruto bellowed at the sight of his beloved sensei tied up and slung over the jerkwad's shoulder.

"Cram it, fox-boy! This all could have been avoided if you'd simply died right after you'd been born! Then the Kyuubi would have died or gone to the Mirror World or whatever, but it would have payed for all the people it killed! It would have payed for ruining my life! My father was a merchant and I would have inherited everything from him. But then you were born, the darling Hokage's son, but you were really the cage for that damn beast-!"

"That's enough! I will not tolerate anymore of this. You will release Iruka and whatever else you may have taken right now!"

"You can have dolphin-boy." _Plunk_ "He's served his purpose..."

"Iruka-sensei! Are you alright? Wake up!"

"However, I'll be taking this kinjutsu scroll," Mizuki sneered in contempt as he cradled the object in his arms. "Lord Orochimaru will be most pleased to have this to add to his collection. And in exchange, I get to have first choice of prisoner executions when he makes his move to conquer the whole damn world! And I pick you, you worthless brat! You'll die the miserable failure you've always been! Hahahahahaaaa!"

_Grr... What do I do? Iruka-sensei's unconscious, the old man's retired and the jerkwad is totally nuts! What would dad do in this situation? I don't know...He hasn't been feeling well for a while now, but... I know... I know what mom would do...! _Naruto stood up from checking Iruka and flung his head up and his index finger out, giving Mizuki the glare he reserved for the crotchety old people who looked at him funny.

"Hey, nutjob!"

"What?! What the hell do you want, demon-brat?"

"I'm not the failure you think I am!"

"Where's your proof?"

"The old man is taking Iruka-sensei away from here and leaving you to me! He has faith that I'll take care of you!" Naruto crossed his arms to bolster his veneer of confidence, tucking a three pronged kunai underneath to hide it from sight.

"So what? The old man managed to carry someone to safety, who cares? It just means there's no one around left to stop me! Goodbye, brat!"

"You're not going anywhere!" Naruto screamed as he chased after the traitorous Mizuki. "I may not be able to beat you right now, but part of being a prankster and a ninja is always having something left to catch people even more off guard!" Naruto's hands them formed into a seal and he shouted, "Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Roughly 200 shadow clones popped out from the great smoke cloud triggered by the technique and leaped after Mizuki's retreating form.

"What the hell?!" Mizuki shrieked at the army of Naruto's at his back quickly catching up to him. _Damnit! I'm still tired from fighting Iruka. Stupid dolphin! Damnit! Wha-!?_ The snake's minion tripped while lost in thought on to the forest floor giving the Naruto army just enough time to surround the sneering jerk.

"We've got you surrounded!" one Naruto yelled. "Thank you, captain obvious. Some give him a ramen coupon for that wonderful kernel of wisdom there," another Naruto snarked and soon the whole crowd was arguing away.

"Just shut up!!!" Mizuki demanded with a twisted look in his eyes. "Now, before I kill you, there's something I want to know... How the hell do you know that jutsu anyways. It's rumoured to be in this scroll, but how the hell could an academy student know it? Especially one who doesn't even know basic ones!"

"You doofus! I have chakra jams cause I have so much, so I can't do the clone jutsu! I was gonna show this to Iruka-sensei like my mom told me to so I could pass anyways, but you screwed it all up!"

"Don't blame me." Mizuki tossed the scroll up onto a tree branch, set down his equipment and flak jacket, then proceeded to roll up his sleeves, all with an unhinged grin on his face. Tattoos on his arms glowed bright purple and Mizuki chuckled darkly. "If you're going to blame anyone, blame that damn prisoner of yours! He's the reason you have so much chakra it jams you up! He's the reason people look at you funny! I'll bet he's even the reason why you're father spends all that time at the office..." The traitor cackled as cloudy black chakra erupted around him strong enough to dispel a few dozen clones before the flow simply stopped to reveal a more muscular Mizuki, with darker blue hair and claws to complement the black stripes running over his glowing red eyes. "...he must be sick of looking at you! He vomits often and looks pale whenever I see him. Whenever you come up in conversation, he has to leave the room! You think you'll be Hokage?! You're nothing but a nuisance, fox-brat! Die!"

The Naruto army rushed in to both dodge and get a hit in, but Mizuki was too fast for them. He cut swaths through the clones with his claws, seething for the blood of the real one. Naruto was worried. Very worried. _Mom taught me this jutsu, but she didn't tell me it only made for a lame distraction! I guess I was so excited I wanted to skip ahead and now I'm dealing with a lunatic that's killing all the mes! And who called me worthless! He mocked my dream too... Agh!_ Mizuki slammed Naruto by the neck into the nearest tree trunk and when all the clones but he poofed away, the tattooed ninja snickered in delight.

"Ooh, look at the future Hokage," Mizuki growled in Naruto's face. "Let me teach you a final lesson, fox-brat! The world is a terrible place for anyone who doesn't have power, so you have to either take it for yourself or make sure that no one else gets it. The fox took my future away. You have the fox. So I'm gonna take your future away. Get it? Hehehe..."

Mizuki's hand moved to Naruto's collar as he swung the blonde around like a sack, smashing him into the trees and pummelling him with his fists deigning occasionally to tear into the poor boy's flesh with his claws and delighting in drawing blood. After a short while, Naruto was simply dropped to the ground a heaving, bloody lump as Mizuki gathered his equipment and the stolen scroll, then stomped on Naruto's arm and ground his hand into the dirt.

"Do you want to know what the best part of this whole scheme for me was? Hmm? Hmm? Quit hacking blood and answer me!" Naruto simply groaned and Mizuki simply took it as an answer because he stopped kicking Naruto in the ribs. "My favourite part was seeing your face fall when I told you that, regretfully, you failed and couldn't become a ninja. Your sorrow became even sweeter as I drove more nails in the coffin. Revealing village secrets is rather fun, I'll have you know... Well, it's been fun but... what are doing, you're trying to throw a kunai at me? Pfft... Goodbye, freak..." Mizuki just walked away, as the tri-pronged kunai embedded in a tree feet away from where he actually was.

"Rrgh, yer really stupid, you know that! Ugh, agh..." the orange-clad knucklehead hacked and coughed so he could taunt his foe properly. "You're stupid for a lot of reasons, but mostly because you're ignorant of what makes a ninja a ninja. You say power, but I say guts, and that's all I needed to take you down in one move." Naruto finally managed to sit himself up against a tree and await the outcome with as much of a smirk as he could muster, watching Mizuki stalk back to him.

"I was going to just leave you because beating up a ragdoll grows old quickly, but now I just want you to shut the hell up you-" Mizuki would have continued but a flash of yellow light blinded him and his outstretched fist was in crushing pain causing him to cry out and see what caused his agony. His pants would need cleaning, but the back of his head told him he wouldn't get a sliver of a second to think about it because he now gazed upon the tear-ridden, rage-filled face of the Fourth Hokage and then there was nothingness....

"Naruto...! Naruto! Oh, baby, where are you!?" Kushina shouted in her distress after Minato flashed out during the middle of their already emotionally draining conversation, only saying that Naruto's life was in danger and that he was in the forest. Doing what any mother would, the redhead ran off to look for her son and beat the crap out of whoever did that to her boy, but Naruto's safety came first. Running into Hiruzen on her way to the woods, she gleaned the general direction and the picked up to top speed towards her family. When she finally heard cries of pain, she almost charged in screaming, but as she got closer, she saw that it was not her son in pain, but his attacker; his own teacher! That she always thought was shifty as well... Content that her husband was doing enough beating and interrogation for the both of them, she cared for her son instead.

Brushing aside the matted hair and wiping the dirt and blood off the whiskered cheeks, Kushina pumped as much chakra as her drained body could spare, to activate the seal on Naruto's stomach._ You'd better stabilize my son, you stupid fox! If you don't, it won't matter if you're dead, I'll find you and kill you a thousand times over..._

"Minato, you can stop now, please! Just...just come here and hold your son! Hold him and tell him how you feel! Tell him how you love him and hope for him to become the man you can be proud of! You don't have to bear it all yourself anymore. Just please let the self-hatred go!" Kushina was crying on Naruto's stomach at this point and Minato simply dropped the wreck that was Mizuki and called the ANBU to clean up the mess of the scroll and the traitor and to check on Lord Sarutobi and Iruka. Turning to his family, he knelt beside his son and apologized for his distance and explained to him the events of his birth. Everything that Minato told Naruto and Kushina poured out from his heart all the feelings of doubt and self-loathing that came from feeling powerless to foresee the events that would come to pass over the last decade.

Naruto himself was beginning to feel a bit more chipper, as he smiled at his dad more often and ran through several thoughts in his head. _What am I? Who am I? Why am I the way I am? What do I want to do? I guess, answering these questions is part of life. Heh. I just wanna start living my life already! Believe it!_ Firming his grip on both himself and his father's hand, Naruto's face set into a look of determination and resolve.

"I still wanna be Hokage, but first, there's the matter of me failing the exam Dad..."

"Iruka is fully qualified to test you and I'm sure he'll agree with my decision to pass you. You did well, Naruto. You had the welfare of the village in mind before your own feelings. I'm proud of you. Now, let's go get you to the hospital."

"Aww, dad, do I have to?"

"Of course you do, my little fish-cake!"

"Mooooom!" Naruto shouted as his father pulled him onto his shoulders. What none of them could see, however, was the slitting of the pupils common to jinchuuriki, but also the golden glow of the sclera, signs that foreign chakra dwelling within their son was beginning to awaken and change his fate should he choose it....

_So the wheels are turning faster, ever so slightly... All the pieces move as far as their strings allow them to. And once more, the snakes and the hawks and the beasts will rage and tear and smite before the mirror can reflect the truth of the lie that holds the truth. The shadows have shadows after all... Kukukuku....Aaaahahahaha!!!! Hehehe... _

A/N- So, there's Chapter Two. It's longer than chapter one so I hope it makes for good reading as well.

I don't anything for a Meta-Mode right now, but I'll see if I can think of something for next time.

Enjoy!


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